Top universities fail to attract poorer students with bursaries

Generous bursaries offered by the most selective universities are failing to attract poorer students, research suggests.

A study by the Office For Fair Access says teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds are not influenced by the size of a bursary when picking universities.

Bursaries to help poorer students were introduced in 2006, when top-up fees came into effect, with the intention of ensuring they were not put off applying to higher education.

A second aim was to encourage universities who had more to do to widen the social make-up of their intake - usually the more elite institutions.

Surveys have also found that students have generally not been deterred from going to university on financial grounds.

The new study, Have Bursaries Influenced Choices Between Universities?, analysed millions of applications and university choices made by young people.

The report said: "Since the introduction of bursaries, disadvantaged young people - who would be more likely to qualify for bursaries - have increased their participation most rapidly in the third of institutions that offer lower bursaries.

"There have only been small increases for disadvantaged participation in the higher bursary third of institutions and overall young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are no more likely to enter these institutions today than in the mid-1990s."